Can you bring ammunition on a plane?

Ammunition on flights in and from Japan

The rule for ammunition comes from the Civil Aviation Bureau's list of restricted items and is the same on domestic and international flights.

Bringing ammunition into Japan is controlled by customs and firearms law, which is separate from the baggage rule above.

Cartridges, spent cases, powder and how the 5 kg is counted

Live rounds, empty cases and loose powder get different answers, and the weight limit is counted per person with the packaging included.

5 kg means gross weight, per person

Japan's row sets the limit as gross weight with the packaging included, so the container counts toward the 5 kg. The allowance cannot be pooled. Japan's list says you must not put another person's ammunition in your own baggage, and Taiwan's table and CASA both say the allowances of more than one passenger must not be combined into one or more packages.

The destination's list can overrule Japan's ○

Japan's list notes that on international flights the rules of foreign authorities may also restrict an item, and that airlines may be stricter than the list. The EU's hold baggage list names ammunition among prohibited articles, Mainland China's CAAC bans it from carry-on and checked baggage, and South Korea, Taiwan and Australia each require the airline's approval.

Spent cases and bullet jewellery

A spent case is treated apart from ammunition on these lists. Japan's list marks key rings and necklaces made from cartridge cases ○ in both columns, as non-dangerous goods. The TSA allows empty shell casings in carry-on if the projectile is no longer intact and the primer has been removed or discharged. South Korea lets cartridge cases and bullet heads into the cabin.

Powder and primers are banned outright

Reloading supplies do not share the cartridge allowance. The TSA entry Gun Powder, which includes black powder and percussion caps, says No for carry-on and No for checked bags. GOV.UK lists gunpowder, black powder and percussion caps among items for neither hand luggage nor the hold, and the hold baggage lists of the EU and Hong Kong both name gunpowder.

Lawful possession comes first

Carrying ammunition lawfully is a condition, not a detail. Hong Kong police state that no person may have arms or ammunition in their possession without a licence, and that this covers visitors and transit passengers, in hand-carried or hold luggage. Japan Customs lists firearms such as pistols, and the ammunition for them, among articles prohibited from entry.

• Guns and replica guns
• Guns and swords: the Japanese permit
• Fireworks and party poppers

Ammunition: the rule country by country

The carry-on answer for ammunition is the same in all 7 other places we checked.

Each row comes from that authority's own page. Airlines can be stricter, and the screening officer has the final say.

If security in Japan will not let ammunition through

What to do

Move ammunition to the bag you check in before you reach security, within the checked-baggage limits above. Narita Airport states that anything given up at the checkpoint is discarded and cannot be returned.

If it gets on board

Taking an item that is restricted from the cabin onto an aircraft is punishable under Japan's Civil Aeronautics Act: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 1,000,000 yen.

Related items

• Fireworks and party poppers
• Petrol and kerosene
• Guns and replica guns
• Swords and replica swords
• Stun guns and batons
• Bows, arrows and crossbows